07:28 AM EDT, 04/11/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were pointing higher on Friday as investors assess China's latest retaliation against increased tariffs from the White House, and await last month's data on producer prices, along with earnings reports from some of Wall Street's major banks.

The S&P 500 increased 0.8%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% and the Nasdaq added nearly 1% in premarket activity. The indexes closed the previous trading session in the red.

China on Friday raised its tariffs on US imports to 125% in response to the US government's move to hike duties on Beijing to 145%. However, the Asian country indicated it would "ignore" any further tariff hikes from the US, several media outlets reported. Earlier in the week, President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on certain tariffs for non-retaliating countries.

Higher-than-projected tariffs would "very likely" increase inflation and unemployment in the US, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Lorie Logan said Thursday. "To sustainably achieve both of our dual-mandate goals, it will be important to keep any tariff-related price increases from fostering more persistent inflation."

March's producer price index report, a measure for wholesale prices, is scheduled to be released at 8:30 am ET. The data comes a day after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported consumer inflation unexpectedly turned negative last month, representing its first monthly decline since May 2020, amid a decrease in energy prices.

Friday's economic calendar also has the preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment report for April at 10 am.

JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) , Wells Fargo ( WFC ) , Morgan Stanley ( MS ) and Bank of New York Mellon ( BK ) are some of the banking heavyweights reporting their latest quarterly earnings before the bell, along with BlackRock ( BLK ) and Fastenal ( FAST ) .

The US-listed shares of Novartis ( NVS ) gained 1.3% pre-bell after the Swiss pharmaceutical giant disclosed plans to invest $23 billion and expand its manufacturing in the US over the next five years. Apple ( AAPL ) , Tesla (TSLA) and Nvidia ( NVDA ) inched higher before the bell.

The two-year US Treasury yield retreated 0.8 basis points to 3.84%, while the 10-year rate gained 1.3 basis points to 4.41%.

Boston Fed President Susan Collins is slated to speak at 9 am, followed by St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem's remarks at 10 am. New York Fed President John Williams speaks at 11 am.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil inclined 0.8% to $60.56 in premarket action. "Oil tumbled on fears of a deepening US-China trade war and a possible recession," D.A. Davidson said in a Thursday note. The weekly Baker Hughes domestic oil-and-gas rig count posts at 1 pm.

Bitcoin climbed 4% to $82,737. Gold advanced 2.3% to $3,249 per troy ounce.